Polly want a cracker?! Right now, kids can ask for our take home craft when requesting materials for curbside pickup or home delivery. Our current craft kit includes the supplies you need to make your own paper parrot.

Place a hold on some of these parrot books or give us a call at 708-867-2298 for help picking out other books you’ll love to read.

The Parrot Tico Tango by Anna Witte

Watch out for Tico Tango! He wants all of the fruit in the forest for himself, even though it belongs to other animals. Will he anything make this fruit-snatching parrot learn his lesson?

A Parrot in the Painting: The Story of Frida Kahlo and Bonito by Thea Feldman

The legendary Mexican artist Frida Kahlo had many pets. Among them was a little parrot by the name of Bonito, the Spanish word for “beautiful.” Frida painted her monkeys, her dogs, and her deer, but when would she be ready to paint Bonito? Discover the story of Bonito and Frida Kahlo in this fact-filled Level 2 Ready-to-Read.

Alex the Parrot: No Ordinary Bird by Stephanie Spinner

In 1977, graduate student Irene Pepperberg walked into a pet store and bought a year-old African grey parrot. Because she was going to study him, she decided to call him Alex—short for Avian Learning EXperiment. At that time, most scientists thought that the bigger the brain, the smarter the creature; they studied great apes and dolphins. African greys, with their walnut-sized “birdbrains,” were pretty much ignored—until Alex.
His intelligence surprised everyone, including Irene. He learned to count, add, and subtract; to recognize shapes, sizes, and colors; and to speak, and understand, hundreds of words. These were things no other animal could do. Alex wasn’t supposed to have the brainpower to do them, either. But he did them anyway.

Accompanied by Meilo So’s stunning illustrations, Alex and Irene’s story is one of groundbreaking discoveries about animal intelligence, hard work, and the loving bonds of a unique friendship.

Mango, Abuela, and Me by Meg Medina

Mia is not sure what to think when her Abuela comes to live with her family in the city. They share a bedroom but speak different languages and Abuela is sad about leaving her sunny house with wild parrots in mango trees. How Mia and Abuela develop their relationship while learning to communicate makes for a richly-told, uplifting story that lovingly blends generations and cultures.

Pablo and Birdy by Alison McGhee

The seaside town of Isla has many stories, the most notable being the legend of the Seafaring Parrot. Locals claim that the Seafarer remembers every sound, every whisper, cry, laugh, or snort ever uttered. But, though there have been rumored Seafarer sightings, no one has actually seen the bird before. Other stories surround a boy named Pablo, who had washed up on shore in a blow-up swimming pool as an infant with only a lavender parrot as a companion. Now, on the eve of his tenth birthday, the stories are repeated.